Turning a combo into a cabinet

guroove · #1 07-22-2010, 09:52 AM

I have a gargantuan Ampeg B25 rig at home that resides mostly in my basement recently because of the ridiculous size of the 2x15" cabinet. I have been considering getting a 1x15" cabinet from fliptops.net for around $399.

I recently found a deal on a BA115 AV combo amp for much less than the cabinet from fliptops. The seller of the combo just emailed me to tell me that the amp recently cut out, but that the headphone out still works. Now I was thinking about buying the combo, and doing some home surgery on it to splice in a 1/4" jack and plug into the speaker wiring to allow me to use it as a cabinet.

Does anyone see any problems with this idea? Will the cheap construction of the BA115 cabinet give my rig a sound not worthy of the B25?

waleross · #2 07-22-2010, 10:42 AM

Sounds like a fun project........................

christw · #3 07-22-2010, 11:01 AM

It will probably be a different sound, but it'll be fun to do.

guroove · #4 07-26-2010, 11:44 AM

I just discovered a problem with my plan. The ba115 speaker is rated at 4 ohms. The B25 head expects a 16 ohm load. What would likely result if I put an 8 ohm speaker into this enclosure?

MistaMarko · #5 07-26-2010, 12:14 PM

This is something I was wondering to. Anyway to use my Ampeg BA-115 as a cab extension for my rig? Never looked into it.

BassmanPaul · #6 07-26-2010, 12:46 PM

Almost invariably the cabinet of a combo is a bunch of compromises based around making the unit transportable. I consider your suggestion akin to hooking up a trailer to a ferrari. With a tube amp it's always best to match the taps on the OPT to the load.

Paul

guroove · #7 07-26-2010, 12:55 PM

Thanks BassmanPaul. I haven't bought the combo yet, and at this point, it looks like the seller is gonna have a hard time unloading it. It's still in a non-working state, and I really don't have the need for a non-working combo. I guess I just need to save up for the cab from fliptops.